It almost was exactly when Scott Gomez went out last season, Kevin Constantine’s high-flying Devils following him in short order.

Until his five-assist explosion Sunday, nothing had been the same for Gomez since his awful, awkward crunch into the boards at Nassau Coliseum that broke his hand in two places April 1, 2002, with six games left last season.

Last night was the anniversary of that non-joke, Gomez and the Devils taking on the Maple Leafs at the Meadowlands, with only three games remaining thereafter.

Gomez needed the Devils to reach the second round to return to action last spring, and as it turned out, they needed him to get there. The Devils were upset by Carolina in six, Gomez never made it back to action, Constantine was fired, Pat Burns hired, Bobby Holik signed with the Rangers for $45 million over five years, and Gomez reluctantly signed a no-choice two-year deal that should average $1.2 million with bonuses.

When Gomez left the lineup a year ago, he was fulfilling the promise of his first-round selection and his 2000 Calder Trophy as NHL Rookie of the Year.

He was among the very best trap-busters in the game, bursting through the neutral zone to notch 41 points in his final 50 games of that season. Before Sunday’s personal best, he had 48 points in 74 games this season, third on the team, but he expects more.

Gomez hoped Sunday’s game marked a turning point. He and Patrik Elias toiled on the third line, among the team’s scoring leaders but not really among its leaders. Each is believed to have been discussed in trade talks this season, Gomez destined for San Jose with Oleg Tverdovsky and Mike Danton if Teemu Selanne had said yes.

Once Burns saw what Gomez and Elias were doing Sunday, however, he increased their workload, making them his top offensive line.

Gomez hopes he can make a difference in these playoffs. He might have provided the difference in last year’s postseason when the Devils craved goals; they outscored Carolina 11-9 but lost four one-goal games.

“It felt like I wasn’t part of it,” Gomez said. “It’s weird. It was like I was a fan, watching, especially in the playoffs, not involved.

“I’m looking forward to the playoffs, when the time comes. It’s going to be fun. But we still have time to get ready for that.”

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The Devils complete their home slate tomorrow against the Bruins … Corey Schwab remained out of action with shoulder injury … The Devils were unbeaten in seven (5-0-2), but in their previous seven games against playoff-bound teams, they had beaten only the Islanders (three times), 3-3-1 … Leafs’ Doug Gilmour doesn’t expect to return from knee injury until after the start of the playoffs.